You are here

BirdLife Australia Twitchathon 2018

Primary tabs

Do you like getting together with your friends to see how many birds you can see?

Would you like to raise money for threatened bird conservation?

Then the Twitchathon is the race for you!

For over 30 years, hundreds of passionate birdwatchers have been racing around the countryside competing in this unique sporting event. The aim? To see or hear as many bird species as possible and help protect our birdlife for years to come.

In 2018, the BirdLife Australia National Twitchathon is back, bigger and better than ever. Whether it’s your first time spotting or you’re a fully-fledged twitcher, the Twitchathon caters for all birders.

JOIN THE RACE

This year there are three different events, all you have to do is, choose an event, form a team, and start planning a route and fundraising strategy!

The Big Weekend is a marathon bird-race where teams try to collect as large a species total as possible with maximum habitat coverage - winning teams regularly record over a quarter of all Australia’s birds.

For those with less time, The Big Day race gives teams half a day to spot as many birds as they can. This more relaxed event avoids the need for teams to camp overnight, and even includes an optional lunch break.

The Birdathon is suitable for everyone, young and old, experienced and novice. Each team has three 1-hour blocks to birdwatch over the course of the day, which they can choose to use at any time, and in any place. So one hour (or more) could be spent at your local park or wetland, or it could be that patch of mallee or rainforest that’s a few hours’ drive away. register a team here.

SPONSOR A TEAM

Each year, the Twitchathon raises funds that go towards a different bird conservation initiative in each state.

In previous years more than $20,000 has been raised for a single project thanks to the Twitchathon. Even if you are busy on the race weekend, you can still play an important role by sponsoring a team or donating directly to your state’s cause.

To learn more about each state’s conservation project, please visit the 2018 action page.